Daughter of My Angel
by These Days
Summary: Darth Vader's perspective of Leia's torture on the Death Star. Short and bittersweet.


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Daughter of my Angel

By Silmariën

A/N: This fic is set during Ep. IV. I hope it's good. My first fic. :*:*: indicates flashbacks.

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"Now, Princess, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel base."

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Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The interrogator droid followed me into the prison cell. An officer and several stormtroopers guarded the door. The Death Star. The Empire's greatest creation yet. Undestroyable, big as a moon, intimidating. Yet - something was unguarded, unsafe, vunderable. Something was nagging at me for days. I brushed that feeling aside, like an annoying flea. Grand Moff Tarkin had double-checked every vent, every pipe, every grate for weaknesses. Tarkin would never let anything slip. Yet Tarkin did not have the Force. Nothing was more powerful than the Force. I scoffed at the foolish young Admiral who did not believe it. I, Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, showed him. I would have killed him too, if Tarkin had not stopped me.

I decided that I needed to attend to the task at hand. The young princess stared at the syringe with a look of pure terror. Weak fool, I thought. She would crack under the pain. All of them did eventually. But then, she adverted her stare and turned to glare at me. Her brown eyes were snapping defiantly, her chin set firmly, and she looked like she had no intention of revealing the location of her Rebellion's base. I suddenly had a shadow of doubt. Maybe she was strong enough to fight the pain. But no, it was impossible. She couldn't possibly –

Then, something in her eyes awakened something in me. I had not seen that look for many, many years. It was Padmé. My angel. I was struck by the resemblance. Her eyes, her nose, her hair - it all looked so much like her. I remembered that fateful meeting on Tatooine, in Watto's junk store.

:*:*:

"Are you an angel?"

She turned to me, an amused smile playing on her lips. "A what?"

"An angel. I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live in the moons of Iego, I think."

"You're a funny little boy. How do - "

:*:*:

No! This was outrageous. I was getting sentimental, like the stupid little boy I was then, with idealistic beliefs of good and evil. Anger. Hate. Resentment. I drowned myself in dark thoughts, buried the memories of my old life deep inside me.

While I was off in my own world, The torture had already begun. The girl was screaming, writhing on the bench as the white hot pain erupted inside her body. I knew it was only a matter of time until she told.

When her vital signs got to be dangerously low, I signalled the stormtrooper to stop the droid.

Leia was lying on the ground, her breath coming in gasps, the pain still fresh, coursing through her veins.

"Now, tell me the location of the location of the Rebel base!" I demanded. "Tell me, and your life will be spared. Refuse, and you will die."

She looked up. I was dismayed to see that she had no intention of giving in. "Never," she grated out. "Darth Vader, I will never give it away. I will die before I tell you."

I knew she was telling the truth. Still, I held onto a faint glimmer of hope. "Resume," I ordered the droid. Soon, she was screaming again, panting, held to life by only a thread.

Yet, through her pain, she managed to hold her head high and give me a look of pure hatred. As much as I tried to push it down, I couldn't stop the image of Padmé from surfacing in my brain. I remembered when she first told me she loved me.

:*:*:

"Don't be afraid."

My words, quiet as they were, seemed to echo in the tunnel.

"I'm not afraid to die." She had tears in her eyes. I moved my hand to wipe them away, then realised it was chained to the side of the cart. "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life."

What? So she really hated me. I felt the tears coming myself. I swallowed and replied neutrally, "What do you mean?"

"I love you."

What? She loves me. Loves me! Or maybe I heard wrong. Of course. She said herself we couldn't be together. But I said anyway, "You - you love me? But I thought we had decided not to fall in love, that - "

:*:*:

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Don't get sentimental! I reminded myself. Anger. Padmé had abandoned me. Kenobi didn't trust me. He only took me as his Padawan because Qui-Gon asked him to. Fear. Mom? she was taken. By the Tuskens. Hate.

I am dark. It is too late to turn back. Dark. Fear. Anger. Hate. Suffering. Death.

But I heard the girl screaming. "Please – no! Dad!" Dad. I had never had a father. I used to think of Kenobi as a father. Now he is an old man, gone to seed, weak. Now I am the Master - of the Force, of the galaxy, of the Empire. I am strong. Stronger than anyone.

"Noooo! Awwwrrrrgg!" Leia screamed out in pain again. So much like Padmé.

:*:*:

Padmé was perched on top of the tall pole. The nexu snapped at the bottom, occasionally leaping at Padmé. Despite the height of the pole, it was able to reach the top. Padmé managed to hit the beast with the heavy chain bound to her right hand.

Good for you! I thought. But then the nexu leaped again and got her, tearing into her tunic, then into her skin. She screamed out in pain. "AWWRRRHH!" I nearly ran to her to help her and tend to her wounds, but I knew that I could not save her without support. I - 

:*:*:

Fear. Anger. Revenge. Hate. These thoughts throbbed in my head as I watched the droid torture her, keeping her conscious throughout the process. I knew I was being stupid, but I just couldn't bear it any longer. "Release her!" I ordered to the interrogator droid. I hauled the girl up and dumped her on the bench. "Get some rest. I will have food and drink sent down," I told her gruffly. Then, rather surprised at my own actions, I marched out, signalling the stormtroopers to follow.

Fear. Anger. Hate. Suffering. Revenge. Death. I am dark. Lord of the Sith. I groaned and decided I had to clear my head, then marched off to my quarters. I really need to meditate on this .

*

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End.


End file.
